Alleged Mugger Crashes Stolen Car Into Semi On I-80

JOLIET, Ill. (STMW) -- Police say a Joliet man mugged two elderly women in different grocery stores before crashing a stolen car into a semi-truck on Saturday.

Joliet Cmdr. Al Roechner said Matthew J. Boban's crime spree began at 11:55 a.m. when he arrived at Jewel, 1401 W. Jefferson St.

Boban allegedly had asked a 32-year-old friend to bring him and his girlfriend to an ATM so he could get cash to purchase heroin for all three of them.

"Boban couldn't get any money from the ATM card so he went inside and approached an 84-year-old woman pushing her shopping cart," Roechner said. "He grabbed her purse, which had the strap wrapped around her wrist and pulled it off, cutting her."

The injured victim alerted other shoppers who chased Boban from the store to the green Buick Century he arrived in, Roechner said.

"When the friend saw Boban being chased with the purse, he said 'I don't want any part of this' and got out," Roechner said. "So Boban slid over into the driver's seat and drove away."

While Joliet police were investigating, Boban reportedly drove to Jewel, 475 Nelson Road in New Lenox, and grabbed a purse from an 80-year-old woman.

Roechner said Boban drove the stolen Buick to fill up at a nearby Speedway and then got on eastbound Interstate 80 and rear-ended a semi-truck.

"State police who responded to the crash report witnesses said Boban put something in a nearby ditch," Roechner said. A search later found two purses in some bushes.

Boban and his girlfriend, who had turned 32 the day before, were taken to Silver Cross Hospital and questioned by investigators. Both were later released and Boban, of 521 Mack St., was booked into the county jail on charges of robbery, aggravated battery to a senior citizen and motor vehicle theft. He is expected to face additional charges and is wanted on a drug possession warrant from Cook County.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)